If you have become a Master Gardener through the Iowa State University Extension Service's program, you are invited to meet with us each month! We are meeting on the "third Thursday," at the Jefferson County Extension Office, 2606 West Burlington Ave., Fairfield, Iowa. This blog will include information about both community service and educational opportunities as they become available.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Vegetables, fruits, herbs and even flowers that enhance the growth, taste
and productivity of each other is an enticing concept, isn’t it? Root
secretions and odors share the honors in the attraction and companionship game
between plants.

Luckily, we don’t need to dig and sniff roots in order to determine if a
carrot is best planted next to a cucumber. Gardeners for ages have been
documenting which plants seem to grow well together and which plants seem to
dislike each other as evidenced by their stunted growth, meager productiveness,
unusual taste and/or by being overrun with insects or disease.

Determining which plant is beneficial or which plants are mutually
beneficial is an ongoing process and sometimes perfecting the ratio of one
plant to another plant is key. Below is a beginner’s list of favorites that are
mutually beneficial and others they especially dislike:

It’s a new gardening year, and it brings the long-awaited mail delivery of
garden catalogs! Wow, my favorite ones are here, full of new varieties in every
category imaginable. Sure, I’ve been browsing on the World Wide Web since last
fall, looking for a hard-to-find pumpkin variety, but there’s nothing like a
hard copy in hand with surprises on each page!

Now, today, is the time to IMAGINE the whole growing year ahead. Let your
mind run wild ... mine fast forwards from early spring crocus to late fall
turnips and chrysanthmums. Beginning to end and all that’s in between! For the
early vegetable garden, radishes, carrots, leaf lettuce, peas, beets, zucchini
squash and cabbage can tolerate cold temperatures of soil and air. These start
my garden list of needed seeds. I’m trying a new watermelon radish and Parisian
globe carrot. Repeat plantings of these early vegetables can be made every
couple of weeks if wanted and weather allows. Of course, I get some sweet corn
planted as soon as my farming family, decides it’s time to plant field corn.
Potatoes can be planted now, the old ritual of planting on Good Friday was
always observed by my family. From the planting, to hilling and finally
digging, we had a good crop of our favorite staple using the holy day date.

Remember ... now is the time to IMAGINE. By the simple work of planting
cucurbita varieties, the fall season will be filled with color, unusual shapes
and textures in harvest settings. When the seed catalogs arrive, our grandkids
pick out the kinds of pumpkins they want for decorating their porches and front
yards! Some are warty, bumpy, white, deep ribbed, bright orange Cinderella’s,
peanut and blue-gray. So many varieties to choose from.Oops, we almost forgot
to order a regular jack-o-lantern! Gourds, Indian corn and maize join the group for fall decorating — just
IMAGINE!

Sweet potato plants can be planted in late May. Plants can be purchased at
nurseries, but are sometimes hard to find. I start my own in February by
choosing the best looking sweet potato in the grocer’s produce department. Do a
good scrubbing, slice a small section from an end, stick toothpicks in sides to
hold it upright, then place in a jar of water. Soon roots and leaves will
appear. These slips can be broken off and then rooted in water. After
acclimating to outside temperatures, they can be directly planted in the
garden.
Don’t forget the faithful, long-blooming plantings of zinnias and marigolds
directly sown in the soil. No pampering needed, they work hard all summer for
your pleasure.

Now, we are nearing the end of the growing season list of seed needs. Our
long-time neighbor shared a saying about growing turnips: “Sow on July 29th,
wet or dry.” It works. By now, any seeds can be planted again, depending on
moisture and weather patterns. Fall gardens can be very successful. Hopefully
you are busy by now canning and freezing all of the wonderful vegetables.

From beginning to end, the most rewarding time is watching it all grow!
Whatever you grow, just IMAGINE ... and keep that never-ending list “down to
earth.”

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Friendship Plant Known for Foliage

Dear Iris - By JULIE JOHNSTON, Master Gardener intern | Feb 02, 2012

While the plant seen in many gardens
has many names, the real name for the plant grown mainly for its
foliage is Hosta. Other names are Friendship Plant, Plantain Lily and
Funkia. Hostas are easy to grow, shade tolerant, herbaceous perennials.
Hostas are grown by some because they are pretty much care free, but I
grow them for their beautiful foliage. The “Friendship Plant” name came
from the sharing of divisions among friends.

Hosta leaves come in a wide range of shapes, colors, sizes, and
textures. Some have ruffled edges, some leaves appear to be quilted. The
leaves may be streaked, speckled or splashed or have a different
colored edge. Plants range in size from the dwarf at 4 inches tall and 6
inches across, to giant, standing 28 inches tall and perhaps 5 feet
across. Some cultivars have scapes — the flower stem — as tall as 60
inches.
Some hybridizers have made it their goal to increase the size or
fragrance of the Hosta flower, resulting in some lovely lily
look-alikes. Others focus on the shape or size of the leaves or the
coloring of the leaves, which range from deep dark green to rather
bluish to pale gold. Many of the newer cultivars have deep red petioles
— stems — with some of the red creeping into the leaves as well. I like
all of them, and my garden will never have enough Hosta to suit me.

Native to Japan, Korea and China, Hosta were first imported and grown
in Europe in the late 1700s. By the mid-1800s, Hosta were growing in
the United States. Collectors still visit the Far East in search of
“new” species, but most new cultivars come from the efforts of Hosta
hybridizers. Today, there are hundreds of species and thousands of
cultivars available to the home gardener as a result of hybridizing and
tissue culture propagation.

If you receive a Hosta from another gardener, it will come from crown
division, which is the way all Hostas used to be propagated. This is a
slow process if large numbers are desired. Today’s market needs of many
Hosta and Hosta cultivars are met by tissue culture, which is now the
preferred process of propagation. This has brought about a growing
problem known as Hosta Virus X because it can spread much more quickly
through propagations methods.

While primarily trouble-free, Hosta have two problems of which you
need to be aware. One is HVX mentioned above and the other is foliar
nematodes.

HVX shows mottling of the leaves, which ultimately become brown
spots. This disease is spread through use of unclean utensils, so
sterilized equipment is a must. More on this disease is a column by
itself.
Foliar nematodes are disease-causing organisms that attack the plant
above ground. The most common symptom in Hosta is the development of
linear lesions between the leaf veins, which become brown and eventually
turn black. Other symptoms may be stunting, bunching of leaves around
the crown, multicolored leaves, lack of flowering and death. In addition
to Hosta, some of the most common hosts include anemone, strawberry,
phlox, verbena, zinnia, carnation, impatiens, begonia, fern and African
violet.For Hosta lovers like me, the garden never big enough, causing us to
continually dig up the turf found in our yards to make room for “just
one more” Hosta. I only have about 90 different cultivars, but some
collectors have hundreds. One garden I visited during the American Hosta
Society convention in Minnesota boasted more than 500 cultivars and
more than 1,500 plants.

If you are interested in learning more, contact me at The Ledger or take a look at the American Hosta Society website at
www.americanhostasociety.org. And if you are lucky enough to obtain one
of these beauties from a friend, you will indeed have a “Friendship
Plant.”

Julie Johnston is a Master Gardener intern.EDITOR’S NOTE: Questions are welcome and can be directed to
Master Gardener Intern and Ledger photographer Julie Johnston at
photo@ffledger.com.

Susan Appleget Hurst is a former garden editor at the Meredith Corporation. She is currently co-host of Gardening Today, a live radio show on WHO 1040 A.M. every Sunday morning. Her website is Applehurst.com. Click the link at left.

Monday, 6:30 - 8:30 P.M., February 27, 2012 at the Rural Health Building at IHCC (on immediate right as you enter from the Alta Visit entrance).

On Monday February 6, 2012 Wapello County Master Gardeners Club willhave
the great good fortune to hear retired educator Dr. Tom Stanley, currently ofPellaIowa,
speak about his work as a walking tour guide inJapanfor
5 months of the year.

Dr. Stanley lived most of his life inAsiaafter
moving there at the age of 10. After completing a PhD at theUniversityofArizona,
he taught inJapan,Hong
Kongand other Asian universities for over 20 years. While teaching there, a research project
developed into a travel company, Walk Japan Ltd. (www.walkjapan.com).
Upon retiring in 2008, he moved toPellafrom
where he travels to Japan 2 or 3 times a year to conduct tours.

The program will be held at theRuralHealthEducation Centeron
the Indian Hills Campus in room 110. beginning at 6:30. The public is invited. A $5 fee
is required for non MG Club members.

Public Gardens of Iowa

2012 calendar features 12 public gardens in Iowa, as well as a list of others around the state. Website locations are available. The calendar itself contains gardening tips and ideas. Purchase your copy at the Jefferson County Extension Office.

ISU Extension Service - Master Gardener Activities - Check It Out!

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About Me

We are a number of gardeners with a variety of interests and expertise, each of whom has achieved (or are working on)their Master Gardener status through study with the Iowa State Extension Service, Ames, Iowa.